Wednesday, February 01, 2017

hot chocolate festival 2017: the halfway mark

Wednesday, February 01, 2017

It is, once again, that wonderful time of year- when I run around from one end of the city to the other in search of delicious hot choc...

It is, once again, that wonderful time of year- when I run around from one end of the city to the other in search of delicious hot chocolate. It's hard to believe that I've been participating in the Hot Chocolate Festival for four years now! As always, I'm here to provide you with a nice overview of all the flavours I've enjoyed (or perhaps not found quite so...hot. ha!)

I started off the festival at Butter Baked Goods as I love their little shop and they rarely disappoint. 'The Bee's Knees' certainly met my expectations- a white hot chocolate with lavender and honey plus a lovely dollop of honey whipped cream on top, it was just the perfect amount of sweetness that left me with a huge smile on my face from the first sip. The shortbread was buttery goodness as well. For as long as I've been going, they've charged $5.25 only for their hot chocolate. Super deal!

A photo posted by roz ♡ (@rawrzuhlind) on Jan 19, 2017 at 9:00pm PST

Next, the 'Rocky Road to Love' at Chocolate Arts. What an apt name- this was a bit of a rocky journey for me. The amount you get is quite impressive- I really couldn't finish mine, and it didn't help that it was a bit thick. I kept checking the menu because it reminded me of a drinking chocolate, although it says otherwise. Taste-wise, it was a bit like drinking chocolate soy milk. That said, the marshmallows & caramel drizzle were a great touch, and the chocolate coated candied almonds stole the show for me- I couldn't stop eating them! This costs $8.35.

On to Gem Chocolates. I'll admit, they've risen quite steadily on my list of favourite hot chocolate locations in the past few years. Offering a different flavour weekly, I find their menu to be quite unique and fun (without crossing into gimmicky territory like certain places that I won't name...) Their first offering is 'Flower Power', a flower blossom infused drink that I really enjoyed. The floral note wasn't overpowering at all, but quite soothing, and it went well with the smooth milk chocolate. The flower design marshmallows were also quite cute and unique- I kept thinking they were chocolates before I actually ate them. All their hot chocolates are $7!

A photo posted by roz ♡ (@rawrzuhlind) on Jan 23, 2017 at 9:00pm PST

Last year, I started off the festival at The Last Crumb- I'm glad I didn't do so this year, as I wasn't particularly excited after their 'Strawberries in the Snow'. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, but it also wasn't amazing. The chocolate itself isn't very obvious (which I suppose isn't surprising as it's white chocolate based), but the strawberry flavour gets completely lost in translation after the first few sips. I did like the strawberry jam thumbprint cookie though. For $6.83, my general feeling is pretty much just 'ehhh'.

On the bright side, I'm super hyped for this next one: Glenburn Soda Fountain & Confectionary. While the location itself is quite out of the way, a nice nostalgic field trip is what all of us need once in a while. Unfortunately, 'All That and a Bag of Chips' is no longer available, but I have no doubt that their other offerings will be equally as impressive. Their milk chocolate drink was mixed with salted toffee (DROOL!), and garnished with chocolate potato chip toffee plus a mini bag of chips on the side. Gee, where do I even start? As I said on Instagram, it really was the perfect mix of sweet and salty. And of course- the toffee! I never wanted to put my cup down and stop drinking. For only $6, I'd hop on a bus and head straight to The Heights right away!

A new participant in this year's festival, Doughgirls Comfort Kitchen also sell what look like scrumptious meals- I couldn't stop salivating after seeing the lasagna, mac & cheese, and shepherd's pie in the case. If only they'd been around back when I was on UBC grounds.....
Anyway, back to the main topic! I stopped by for 'Arctic Ice', a white chocolate drink infused with mint. (You all remember how much I love mint, right?!) This reaaaaally hit the spot after a long morning at work. Again, I have to mention how much I actually enjoy white chocolate based drinks, and the refreshing mint was perfect. The contrast of their frozen mint truffle with the warm drink really made for a great combination. While not as exciting, the chocolate peppermint biscochito was an added bonus, and for $5.25, I really think it's worth heading up to UBC for this!

While I wasn't originally planning on stopping by Diva at the Met (especially knowing how pricey it is...), I somehow ended up there on Friday evening. 'Peppermint Pole Dance' certainly sounded like something I would enjoy, but in the end, the taste just didn't justify the price. Perhaps it was the addition of the peppermint schnapps that ruined it for me- I don't enjoy alcohol, least of all the aftertaste of it. The supposed infusion of pineapple wasn't at all apparent to me, but I did like the streusel topping. My favourite part of this was probably the delicious chocolate pillow cookie which was so perfectly chewy. My verdict? For $11.50, I'd give this a pass unless you're a documented fan of peppermint schnapps (and even then.....).

Of course, I'd like to end this post with something exciting, so I'm really glad that Temper Chocolate is next. Making the trek out to West Van for 'Princess and the Frog' and 'Memoirs of a Geisha' was well worth it. I couldn't decide which one I wanted more, so I grabbed Princess and the Frog for myself, but actually ended up switching after. The former certainly has an aromatic and rich pistachio flavour with a great chocolate base, but I prefer Memoirs of a Geisha- a frothy white chocolate with tart freeze-dried raspberries that help cut into the sweetness of the white chocolate. There's even a lovely hint of matcha that helps make it one of my favourites. Princess comes with a rose macaron, and the Geisha with a rich matcha cookie, and they're both $8 each. I definitely recommend Temper if you haven't been before- they also have beautiful desserts reminiscent of Faubourg or Thierry. (and apologies for the weird fluorescent green film on top of the Princess drink- they didn't seem to think of how quickly a chocolate lilypad would melt once placed over a hot drink....)

IN SUMMARY aka tl;dr

STOP, DROP, AND GO GET ONE NOW

butter baked goods: $5.25 (plus tax)
glenburn soda fountain: $6 (before tax)
doughgirls comfort kitchen: $5.25 (plus tax)
temper chocolate: $8 (before tax)
gem chocolates: $7 (before tax)

EHH.........IT'LL DO

chocolate arts: $8.35 (plus tax)
the last crumb: $6.83 (plus tax)

HANG ON TO YOUR WALLET

diva at the met: $11.50

hot chocolate fest 2017: weeks 1 & 2

By Rosalind Chow

Butter Baked Goods
By Rosalind Chow
Chocolate Arts
By Rosalind Chow
Gem Chocolates
By Rosalind Chow
The Last Crumb
By Rosalind Chow
Glenburn Soda Fountain
By Rosalind Chow
Doughgirls
By Rosalind Chow
Diva at the Met
By Rosalind Chow
Temper Chocolate & Pastry
By Rosalind Chow

Sunday, February 15, 2015

hot chocolate festival: final recap! (2015)

Sunday, February 15, 2015

So terribly sad that this is my last hot chocolate fest recap for the year- it's been a sweeeeet month! Managed to round up my fr...

So terribly sad that this is my last hot chocolate fest recap for the year- it's been a sweeeeet month!

Managed to round up my friends for a small after-school date at Bella Gelateria...which is an excellent excuse to order everything on the menu ;D (technically, they were kinda coerced into this decision.... "you can't order the same thing as me!!!! roz needs pictures for her blog!!!!)

Matt chose 'Erin Gone Bananas', I had the 'James Brown', Anna had 'Earl Goes Boom', and Christina had 'La Dolce Vita'. Of the bunch, 'La Dolce Vita' was definitely the best! You can't go wrong with dulce de leche. 'James Brown' was very rich, and the addition of spices is definitely an acquired taste and not for everyone. On my instagram post, I wrote about anise and nutmeg....and on second thought I'm not quite sure where I got the info that these were the spices in the hot chocolate? Did I make that up? I have no idea, haha. Anna and I weren't terribly excited by the cookie- Anna doesn't like ladyfingers, and while I don't mind 'em, the ones we had were a bit dry with not enough fior di latte gelato inside. Super sadface about it, since fior di latte is one of my favourite gelato flavours. I was hoping it'd be the same gBARs as last year :(

This is the same day I got a shout out from Cityfood Magazine- thank you!

As a result, here are some choice quotes from my friends regarding their drinks:

"I really like mine."- Christina

"It's quite sweet but not diabetes sweet."- Anna

"A few sips would be fine, but like...the whole thing is a bit much, you know?"- Matthew Henderson, connoisseur of life

Moving on! I returned to Gem Chocolates twice for 'Miss Scarlett's Pecan Pie' & 'Cocoa Van Gogh'. I really enjoyed the former- it was a creamy and comforting drink which reminded me slightly of almond milk, thanks to a hint of the fragrant pecans mixed in with caramel. The pecan praline included was sticky & sweet, but delicious nonetheless!

As for the latter, a Speculaas drink, it brought back all my Christmas feels- the gingerbread & cinnamon make it such a cozy winter drink! With every sip, there's always a slight cinnamon kick at the end that just spiceed it up a bit and made it so unique. The Speculaas chocolate was also quite different- a lovely caramel inside with a hint of gingerbread & cinnamon? Its appearance is so pretty as well.

Last but not least, I had to end the festival with a bang of course (and on the last day itself, no less.) Glenburn Soda Fountain & Confectionary is yet another place I've wanted to try since I first heard it was opening, but due to their location, I've never been able to make the trip. As I had Saturday free, and it finally decided to stop raining, I hopped on the bus and made my way out to Burnaby.

It was every bit as cute as I imagined- the shelves filled with candy from my childhood was one of my favourite touches, and of course, the interior itself was precisely what you imagine when you think of retro diners. Not to age myself (haha), but soda fountains and diners always remind me of the Archie comics that I used to read in elementary school!

My verdict? Delicious & faultless. Just a classic vanilla ice cream with a simple dark hot chocolate (which reminded me of Thierry's Ampomakia, but not as sweet, and definitely not as heavy!) The ice cream is good, and while I don't usually order waffle cones, theirs is crunchy and thick. I will without a doubt be returning in the summer for a milkshake or a sundae (which I should've done ages ago anyway...)